Cambridge Entomological Club, 1874
PSYCHE

A Journal of Entomology

founded in 1874 by the Cambridge Entomological Club
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Article beginning on page 179.
Psyche 8:179-192, 1897.

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February 1898.1
PSYCHE.
butterflies in ten days, and the Papilios takes three weeks. (Journ. Bomb. in a fortnight. Troides (Ornithoptera) nat. hist. soc., X, 1-3). THE ACRIDIAN SUBFAMILY MASTA-
CINAE IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE American Mastacinae hitherto known
are the genera Mastax and Masyntes, which have been reported only from South America and the West Indies.
In his collections on the Pacific coast last summer Mr. A. P. Morse obtained two speck mens of an apterous and possibly immature Mastacid, one at Cahon Pass in southern
California on July 19, the other on Mt. Wil- son, Altadena, near Los Angeles, on July 27. They belong to a new generic type, most
nearly allied to Masyntes Karsch but difter- ing from it by having a more appressed head with less convex vertex, the fastigi~nn prom- inent as in Masyntes but broadly convex
instead of silicate or latern'lly marginate, apically broadly rounded and no1 emarginate, the lateral carinae of the metazona much less pronounced, the posterior angle of the lateral lobes rectangulate and the spines of the hind tibiae of uniform length. The body is cin- ei-eous with a broad black median stripe on the vertex, and on the upper half of the lateral lobes of the pronoturn, continued on the abdomen; the fore and middle legs are ruddy. The length of the body and of the hind femora is only g mm. The genus may
be called Morsea and the species califoruira. Samuel II. Scudder.
EARLY STAGES OF TROPICAL
BUTTERFLIES. ,
In another place in this number we have
printed an extract from a paper by Messrs. Davidson, Bell and Aitken, on Bombay but- terflies. This paper which appears in vol- umes x and xi of the Bombay journal is one of the most important contribthions to our knowledge of the early stages of tropical butterflies that have appeared in recent years. It is accompanied by eight colored plates of caterpillars and chrysalids and is in continuation of a paper by two of the number in the same journal eight years ago, .
where six similar colored plates are given and notes of no less than 94 species which they had themselves reared. The present
paper includes a list of the butterflies of the district, which they enumerate as ,233 species and of these notes are given or referred to of the earlier stages of all but 36. This is a remarkable showing.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB.
14 January, 1898. The 198th regular and
zist annual meeting of the Club was held at 156 Brattle St., Mr. A. P. Morse in the chair. Reports from the several officers were re- ceived and the following persons elected for the ensuing year: -President, T. E.
Bean ; secretary, Roland Hayvard ; treasurer,. Samuel Henshaw ; librarian, Samuel H.
Scudder; members at large of the executive- committee, J. W. Folsom and S. H.-Scudder. The address of the retiring president, Dr.. H. G. Dyar, on the larvae of the Australian Eucleidae, was read by proxy. Itis given elsewhere in this number.
Mr. R. Hayward showed a female speci-
men of Zar)li/is integ~+ennis sent him re- cently by Mr. L. Em Ricksecker of Santa
Rosa, Cal. Mr. Ricksecker stated in a letter that he had obtained three females, from which he procured eggs. A few larvae were obtained, but they died soon after hatching,



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180 PSYCHE. [February i%8.
The females were luminous in every segment when alive, and very beautiful.
This led to some discussion ot the females and larvae of the Phengodini.
Mr. S. H. Scudder brought to the notice
of the club two recent instances of commer- cial introduction of exotic Orthoptera. The first was a very large Mantis taken alive Oct. 16 at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, and of which two photographs, sent by Mr. C. Few Seiss, were shown. The specimen is a Tenodera
about a decimeter long; so far as the photo- graphs show, it does not appear to agree perfectly with the descriptions of any of the species known, which occur only in the trop- ics of the old world from India to New Zea- land and Japan and also in Africa. Eggs
were found in the body and it is difficult to understand how so large an insect could he imported alive to the Atlantic coast of tem- perate America without detection en route. The other instance was Diestru~nn~enu mar- moruia (De Haan), a Japanese insect allied to our Ceuthophili; specimens were exhibited which had been found in some numbers in
greenhouses in Minnesota by Prof. Otto
Lugger; the direct means of its introduction had not been ascertained.
Mr. Scudder rcfcrred to a previous exhibi- tion of specimens of the destructive locust of Argentina, Schistocercu -ftarane?zsis (Burm.), which he had received from Prof. L. Brunei- and showed further specimens
exhibiting the species at the time of egg- laying, which differed by its less intense color from the winter roseate form previously shown.
He also reported that he had recently
heard from Dr. A. G. Mayer, now at the
Fiji Islands, that Anosiaflexipptis is one of the commonest butterflies in Suva arid that it is also common at Ovalau, Tamloe and
Vanna Mbalavu, all of which were inhabited by a considerable number of whites; on the other hand he states that it certainly does not exist upon most of the other Fiji Islands and is apparently confined to those where commerce can readily have hrought it.
Mr. Scudder also announced the capture at Bristol, Me., by Miss Katherine W. Huston in July last of a specimen of Basilarchiapfo- serfina. 23. arthemis is said to be quite abun- dant in that locality, while B. asfyanux has never been observed.
Mr. A. P. Morse spoke briefly upon the
relative abundance of different groups of Orthoptera on the Pacific coast, as noted by him during a recent collecting trip. In
point of number of species and wide-spread distribution Oedipodinne were most numer- ous, with Acridinae, especially Melanoplus, a close second; Tryxalinae and Tettiginae were much less plentiful, occurring locally and in relatively small numbers. Of Locus- tarians Xiphidium was the only genus rep- resented abundantly, though Scudderia,
Stenopelmatus and certain Decticids were not uncommon locally. Of Gryllidae,
Gryllus and Oecanthus were most common,
occasionally plentiful and sometimes Tri- dactylus was common. Blattidae, except
introduced species were scarce. No Phas- midae were seen.
A. SMITH & SONS, 2.69 PEARL STREET, New York. NASL'FACTL'RERS AX11 lilPORTERS OF
GOODS FOR ENTOMOLOGISTS,
Klaeger and Carlsbad Insect Pins, setting; Boards, Folding Nets, Locality and
Special Labels, Forceps, Sheet Cork, Etc. Other articles are being added, Send for List.



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Volume 8 table of contents